Cummins 600 rods

[DGFoster]

Does anyone know if the rods in the 600 are forged or powder coated?

I friend of mine is picking up his new 04. 5 Super Duty with the 6 litre in it and he said it doesnt have forged rods,and I told him yes they do,well at least my 99 super duty did,but I guess they switched in 2000 to powder coated.

But I am curious to the Cummins,anyone know??



Thanks

 

[KD7GYJ]

Check out this,



http://www.cummins.com/na/pages/en/...vturbodiesel.cfm#Engine_Service_Improvements_



This talks about the inconel rods and high cobalt stellite exhaust valve seats. These are suppose to be the best in the industry.



Blair

 

[n7gxz]

What the heck does powder coating have to do with connecting rods? Is Ford trying to make them pretty? I believe that all connecting rods are forged. Forging is a type of stamping process. The difference is the design of the connecting rod and the material that it is made from that make the difference.



Kevin

 

[Bill Stockard]

6.0L Rods

The 6. 0L rods are made with powdered metal, not powder coated.



Bill

 

[lmills]

Yeah what you mean is powdered metal. They are not nearly as strong as forged. That's part of the resason why you do not see a lot of the newer PSD's with over 450 HP. Most guys running over that level have upgraded to forged rods for strength.

 

[DPelletier]

yes, sintered powdered metal, not powder coated!

No, not all rods are forged. Many are cast. Forged rods are stronger.



Dave

 

[DGFoster]

Originally posted by DPelletier

yes, sintered powdered metal, not powder coated!

No, not all rods are forged. Many are cast. Forged rods are stronger.



Dave

Yes I am sorry powdered metal is what I meant.

 

[XcumminsX]

Wow... Im very suprised they use inconel... We use that stuff in our machine shop and it is STRONG... Thats pretty cool



Nick

 

[jimnance]

Yep Inconel is some cool stuff. Surprised they are using it in Con Rods. Usually I've seen it in very high temp stuff like exhaust systems in high performance turbo-supercharged systems. It holds up much better than stainless to the heat. Apparently, it is a very high nickle content steel alloy.



It's hard for me to believe that Ford would use sintered metal in Con Rods. Unless there is some new process that makes sintered metal extremely strong they'd destruct in very short order. Are you sure this isn't some fable made up by a Ford basher? I no fan of Ford, but sintered metal con rods ????

 

[jimnance]

Ah, just looked at the link above. They are using Inconel for the exhaust valves which makes more sense. This is using the alloy to it's best advantage. Cummins is still using a forged con rod. It is just a specialized forging technique.



Still, Cummins has really improved on the metalurgy of some of the critical engine parts. Good job.

 

[XcumminsX]

yeah that seems odd. .

 

[Forrest Nearing]

looks like the new Cummins rods are a cracked cap design... that's a good thing. keeps the big end as close to perfectly concentric as possible!!



Forrest

 

[lmills]

Originally posted by jimnance



It's hard for me to believe that Ford would use sintered metal in Con Rods. Unless there is some new process that makes sintered metal extremely strong they'd destruct in very short order. Are you sure this isn't some fable made up by a Ford basher? I no fan of Ford, but sintered metal con rods ????

When you say "sintered metal rods", I assume you mean the powdered metal rods? If so, then yes. Ford switched from forged to powdered metal, I believe in 2000. Some of the newer 7. 3 have them also. Call any decent diesel shop and they will tell you the same.

 

[banshee]

I have some pictures at home of the Ford rods snapped in half... it was off a 2001 PSD. The rods poked right through the side of the block! The powdered metal rods are gaining popularity because they are actually pretty strong, pretty stiff, and cheap to manufacture. I know GM uses them in a lot of their gas engines, including the LS series V8s. The cracked cap forged design in our motors is the best you can get short of going to a billet steel rod.



John

 

[boonsur]

I used to work for the company(s) that manufacture camshafts for Cummins. Not sure how much I can say here, but their material/methods are also superior to what the two are doing.

 

[Bob4x4]

The cracked cap design was phased in,not sure of the date or engine numbers. The early engines were standard design. The early engines also had block stiffening plates. These may go away,rumor only at this point.



Bob

 

[DGFoster]

Originally posted by Bob4x4

The cracked cap design was phased in,not sure of the date or engine numbers. The early engines were standard design. The early engines also had block stiffening plates. These may go away,rumor only at this point.



Bob

One more reason to buy a Cummins. .

 

[RobertBolinger]

I have a 7. 3 rod and a Cummins I got from another member. The Cummins rod is the cracked cap design, and also has oil "galleries" carved in the bearing surface on the piston end-



Look at my weight comparison:



Ford SuperDuty Powerstroke 7. 3

7. 3 liters divided over 8 cylinders=0. 91 liter per Cylinder

Dodge Cummins 5. 9

5. 9 liters divided over 6 cylinders=0. 98 liter per Cylinder

Cummins rod should weight 108% of Powerstroke

Powerstroke rod weighs 51. 2 oz

Cummins rod weighs 73. 8 oz

Cummins rod weighs 144% of Powerstroke



I know this is only meaningful if the metals are similar, but it still looks cool.

 

[thejeepdude]

Originally posted by RobertBolinger



Cummins rod weighs 73. 8 oz

Cummins rod weighs 144% of Powerstroke



I know this is only meaningful if the metals are similar, but it still looks cool.

It's even MORE meaningful if the metals aren't similar. Perhaps the cummins rod is actually better metal AND weighs more. :-laf

 

[klenger]

Also 7 main bearings vs 5 if my feeble mind understands the difference between a V8 and an inline 6.